The latest edition, which officially goes on sale this week, forecasts colder-than-normal and wetter-than-usual weather for three-quarters of the country east of the Rocky Mountains. Drought-stricken California, along with the Pacific Northwest, will see normal precipitation and cool temperatures this winter, the almanac said.

The publication, not to be confused with the New Hampshire-based Old Farmer’s Almanac, uses a secret formula based on sunspots, planetary positions and lunar cycles for its long-range weather forecasts.

Modern science doesn’t put much stock in the formula.

But even modern meteorologists can stumble on long-term forecasts. The national Climate Prediction Center forecast a strong likelihood of above-normal temperatures from last November through January.

“Not one of our better forecasts,” Mike Halpert, the Climate Prediction Center’s acting director, said at the time. There’s still no good explanation as to why the polar vortex moved so deep into the U.S., he said.

Of the Farmers’ Almanac, he said, “Good for them if they got it right last year, and I’ll leave it at that.”

One major difference between the Federal employees at the Climate Prediction Center and the Farmer’s Almanac is that the editorial staff of Farmer’s Almanac don’t fear nearly the same pressure to support the idea of Global Warming.